- While Major Crimes investigates the death of an aspiring teenage pop star's father, Brenda contemplates whether to accept what appears to be a generous offer to settle her case.
- Brenda and the Major Crimes team investigate the death of Bob Michaels, father of aspiring pop star Missy Michaels. Found at the bottom of a cliff after a 5-day disappearance while hiking, it has the appearance of a suicide. Medical examiner Dr. Morales determines that Bob's been dead for twelve hours or so, which raises the question of what he'd been doing for the previous four and a half days. Further examination finds pepper-spray on his face along with blue candy and a pizza in his stomach, suggesting deception at best, murder at worst. Ambitious parents are at the root of it all. Meanwhile, the Baylor family offers to settle the lawsuit against Brenda and the city, but the language in the settlement isn't as clear as Brenda's lawyer or Capt. Raydor would like.—garykmcd
- Opening scenes are mixed with a want-to-be pop-star performing outside while television reporters flock in a park filming the disappearance of the youngster's father, gone missing for days with the authorities searching for him. Brenda arrives after the body is found, dead on the mountain, having fell or pushed off the trail. The officials recover the victim, they prepare plaster castings of footprints left near the trail, and Brenda talks to the family accompanied by Lieutenant Provenza.
Commander Taylor introduces the family to Chief Johnson, there is the father-in-law, Wes Durant, the wife, Beth Michaels, son Timmy and performer daughter, Missy. Wes shakes Brenda's hand introducing himself from Ft. Wayne Indiana. Taylor shows Beth the shirt found on the body, she screams, clutching the shirt, now everyone knows it belongs to the victim father, Bob Michaels. A stranger appears requesting Missy speak to the press, Wes intervenes, dismissing the intruder, later identified as Bruno Perez, Missy's manager. Wes asks Brenda for some quiet time, some privacy. She invites the family to HQ and Provenza asks politely for the victim medical and dental records, in due course. Wes immediately hands over an envelope to the Lieutenant, and both he and Brenda look surprised, like the documents would be needed.
The body is lifted off the mountain to a tent where the Medical Examiner, Dr. Morales, examines the victim's fatal wounds, noticing a sunburn face and the palms of his hands. The doctor estimates Bob was outside overnight, ten or twelve hours at the most. The M.E. says the redness on the face is not from sunburn, spraying the body and immediately realizing he was pepper-sprayed, releasing the vapor into the area affecting all around him, including the doctor, Buzz, Provenza, Brenda and Pope.
At HQ, the plaster cast reveals the victim went off the cliff backwards, shoved with pepper-spray. Goldman enters, announcing a monetary change to the lawsuit. Raydor, Gavin, Pope and Brenda listen while heeding the words from someone nobody likes. Caution was given by Gavin before Goldman was allowed to enter the room. Pope and Gavin state opposing views of the nature of the amended proposal; Pope wants a signature, Gavin says hold off to Brenda. Gabriel interrupts the meeting informing them the victim's family is crashing Commander Taylor's press conference. Brenda orders them up into the building. The Michael's family claims Bob's death was an accident, not a suicide.
Wes Durant, the grandfather from Mom's side, is the only person up at HQ, telling Brenda Bruno took them to another interview. Wes references Bruno, Missy's manager, being behind all Bob's behavior and demise. Wes describes Bob as something less than realistic, quitting his job, acting in the local theater group before packing Missy and her mother Beth, for the West coast. He has no idea why Bob was up in the park, he had never missed an audition before. Wes says Bob called for his old job back, but he was denied a return by his boss. Maybe he lost hope and gave up, jumping instead, is Wes's guess. Wes blames Bruno for all that has happened; talk to him Wes advises Brenda.
Bruno thinks it is bad for Missy's career that the police are claiming Bob's fall off the cliff after five days missing is anything but an accident. Brenda takes issue with Bruno's evaluation explaining to him she cannot make any determination as to cause of death until she talks to Missy and her Mom. Brenda threatens Bruno with telling reporters Missy and he are refusing to cooperate with the police in this investigation; they are going to jump to conclusions worse than suicide. Brenda lectures Bruno, government regulations require Missy and Beth sign a document declaring Bob was in an accident, otherwise it goes down as suicide. There is likely such a regulation somewhere, besides, the public does not know Bob wandered around for five days before being found; let them think it was suicide. Lieutenant Flynn's report of Bob's stomach contents were pizza and some unidentified blue candy. So, Bob got lost on Mount Pepperoni, per Sergeant Gabriel. Brenda easily concludes Bob was never lost. Brenda orders the Sergeant to perform a financial background on the Michael's and Bruno's company.
Brenda is on the couch getting a foot rub by Fritz, he is reviewing the legal document, while Brenda quips it is not comforting watching the news about Missy's new video, while Bob found a fresh pizza in the park, before being pepper-sprayed and shoved off a cliff by the invisible man. Fritz compares the likenesses of the new document he is reading with Brenda's talk about Bruno's agreement with the Michael's family; a total scam for each contract.
Lieutenant Tao has prepared an Accidental Death Certificate Brenda looks over saying it looks great, with the addition of Bruno's signature line, it making look like he is still in charge. The pathology time line is required as the last step before Bob's body is released to the family. They all signed the Accidental Death Certificate including Bruno; like Lt. Tao said, it would make him feel important. Bruno tells Brenda how the family was besieged by the public enough where Bruno thought it a smart precaution to purchase pepper spray for Missy to carry at all times for protection when out an about town. The word came back that Bruno bought pepper spray and the officers conclude it was for himself, having been involved with the police in the past. Brenda tells Bruno only the family can be involved in the time-line-meeting; the family leaves the room while Lt. Flynn and Brenda question Bruno about the pepper-spray-purchase. He insists he bought it for Missy because she got mugged when Beth and Bob first arrived. Bruno is cuffed, arrested for Bob's murder. Brenda empties Missy's purse looking for pepper spray; it is gone. Missy says maybe I lost it, the media circus intensifies with Bruno's arrest, and he meets the press.
Captain Raydor will not certify the document Brenda signed until Gavin gives his opinion. They await a meeting with Brenda's attorney. Meeting to follow once Bob's killer is caught. Raydor makes it clear regarding the agreement document Brenda wants to sign, Raydor doesn't trust Goldman, and when it comes to this agreement, she doesn't trust Pope either, telling Pope exactly that, as she exits his office.
Gabriel insists Missy tries to recall when her purse was out of her possession, because Brenda lays it out to her, that pepper spray was found all over your father's face. Bruno had her purse locked up while she was performing her last video. Missy says something changed with her father missing her last audition; he always went to her auditions. He went on his hike instead, forcing her to go to the audition with her Mom in the rental car; Bruno brought her home afterward. A credit card alert to the police showed Bob was in a hotel instead of a walk in the park; he charged the blue gummy bears, eight dollars. Lt. Tao describes the wife followed the husband up the mountain, she drives him back after leaving the van, following the media blowout.
Beth denies ever using a credit card for hotel charges, Gabriel says that can be validated testing the fingerprints left in the room. She tells the rental car was for Bob returning to his old job in Ft. Wayne. That is why he went on that hike to think how he could break the news to Missy. The rental car was for the family after Bob left for Indiana. Brenda calls the story a lie talking to Wes and Beth, knowing there was no job waiting for Bob back home. Gabriel proposes the whole performance was a publicity stunt. Beth denies the hoax, with Brenda hatching a way for her to straighten things out by having Buzz videotape her explanation for Bob going missing.
The purpose of the taping is to get Missy off the hook for the adult behavior, promising the tape will be released to the media thanks to Buzz and his recording. We were just parents trying to create a break for our daughter without her knowledge. Bob would pretend to be lost, hiding out in the hotel, and when it was time to be rescued, I would pick him up and drop him off at the entrance to the park. This was a terrible trick to play on all of you. I went to pick him up in Burbank, he panicked, he showered to look better on camera. When I got him up the mountain, he was terrified people wouldn't believe our story. Gabriel adds, there was no evidence Bob was up on that mountain with anyone. I sort of covered my footprints on the way back down, because it needed to look like Bob had been up there alone. He refused to walk up that trail by himself, then he went wild, blaming me, pushing me. It was self-defense, he fell off the trail, plummeting to his death. Brenda says you left out the part about the pepper spray you took from your daughter's purse and brought it along with you. Bringing the pepper spray undercuts the notion you went up on that mountain with Bob and had a spontaneous argument. Bob was jealous of Beth and Missy being on television without him. Beth is cuffed by Gabriel and arrested for the murder of her husband.
Gavin tosses the document on the floor while he explained what was to occur. Gavin expounds nowhere does it say Goldman will not refile charges the moment you admit to professional indifference to the suspect's predicament. Raydor gives it an I knew it, supporting her not trusting Goldman. Gavin supports the argument not to sign anything from Goldman as the Michaels' meet the press after Beth's arrest.
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